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911 Babysitter Prowler
Location: Beaverton, Oregon Date: January 14, 1989 Story As a parent, there's nothing more frightening then knowing that your child is in danger and there's nothing you can do to help, as George and Vicki O'Brien of Beaverton, Oregon found out on January 14, 1989. The O'Briens' oldest daughter had to cancel her babysitting job at the last minute but 10-year-old Kelly offered to fill in. They had no qualms sending her, as they felt "she was a very good babysitter and feeling no alarm or worry about sending her out," Vicki mentioned. Mary Willis picked Kelly up and drove her the three miles to their house. "We feel like we live in a safe place" Mary stated, adding "Kelly had babysat for us for a number of times. and there wasn't too much to orient her to, just explain what Comy had eaten and to put him down for a nap at about 1 or 1:30. And with that we left the duplex." Mary dead-bolted the door from the outside as she and her husband left. At around 2pm, Kelly took 2-year-old Comy upstairs to put him down for his afternoon nap. Washington County Sheriff's Deputy Duane Fuquay recalls what happened next. "Apparently an individual had driven up in front of the duplex, looking at a young girl that was inside. I believe she was ten years old. She saw this man in a car staring at her, and moved out of line of his sight. He moved the car to watch and see her again." At the same time, someone was knocking on the back door. The man at the back continued to knock, despite Kelly telling him to go away. Kelly called the police. However, she didn't know where she was, in regards to address. A fellow dispatcher traced the call, however the dispatcher Kelly was talking to said, "A trace can take normally eight minutes, and we're the difference between life and death." She also didn't know the phone number, or any other information to start the police over there. The dispatcher ascertained the prowler knocking and the one at the other end looking at her. The dispatcher was concerned as to why they wanted into the house. "They must have wanted in pretty bad," they said. She ascertained that Kelly was babysitting and was concerned about the intentions of the prowlers. Dispatcher Terri Schroeder hoped Kelly's parents would know the address of the house she was at. "You never think something will happen to your own family," said Vicki. "I was terrified," said George. "My mind became a little confused. I didn't know their address or last name but could direct them in a minute." The dispatchers passed his directions to Deputy Fuquay. They were all they had to go on. "You think about what could happen to this young girl, said Deputy Fuquay, "when we didn't know where she was but knew she was in trouble." Without an enhanced 911 system, the dispatchers could not get Kelly's address automatically. Finally, Schroeder got the trace and asked her if she was at the Willis' house, and she said yes. As Deputy Fuquay drove to the location, he wondered "You wonder if this could be another statistic. If only I could drive a little faster." Meanwhile, the car watching Kelly left but she thought the man was still there. Deputy Fuquay arrived, doing an area check and ascertaining the area was safe. Schroeder is proud of Kelly, saying, "She did a remarkable job for a ten-year-old," Fuquay agrees. "She's very sharp, she dialed 911, did the right thing. You'd like to think all young children would respond the same way, but they don't." George and Vicki arrived soon after, saying they were happy to see her alive. Schroeder is fortunate they did not get in as "I've handled calls where they did," Kelly said "My advice to other children that are babysitting is to always have the name and address of the people you're babysitting for and to lock the door." Mary is very thankful to her for saving Comy's life that day. Category:1989 Category:Oregon Category:Crimes Category:Robberies